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Silver Skulls
The Silver Skulls are a Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Chapter of Space Marines who are a possible Second Founding Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines, though this remains unconfirmed. The Silver Skulls have earned a reputation for achieving victory for the Imperium of Man no matter the odds stacked against them. Of course, this reputation has been earned because the Silver Skulls will only take to the battlefield when the psychic portents that their specialist Librarians known as Prognosticators receive indicate that the outcome of the combat will be favourable for the Chapter. The Silver Skulls' homeworld is the Feral World of Varsavia, which lies on the edge of the region of the galaxy known as the Gildar Rift. Varsavia's barbaric human tribes form the primary source of Aspirants for the Silver Skulls. Chapter History Although there is little information available on the Chapter in Imperial records, several references indicate that the Silver Skulls may be amongst the most renowned and honoured Chapters of the Second Founding's ranks. Whatever the truth of their heritage, the Silver Skulls have earned a reputation for victory, no matter the odds. The Silver Skulls rely upon their Librarians to keep up this reputation; the Chapter never deploys without consulting a Librarian's augury, and consider such utterances as the word of the Emperor Himself. This is because the Silver Skulls believe that the Emperor guides their purpose and they choose to take to the battlefield only when portents demand it. Such mercurial behaviour does not sit well with some Imperial commanders, but victory is seen as ample compensation by most of the Silver Skulls' allies. Their homeworld is the Feral World of Varsavia but they do not seem to solely recruit from there. The Chapter also finds its Aspirants on a world called Garanda II, recruiting the feral tribesmen from that planet's Ash Wastes. Varsavia and Garanda II are only two of many recruitment planets used by the Silver Skulls. The Gildar Rift The Silver Skulls' Chapter homeworld of Varsavia hugs the outer rim of the region of the galaxy known as the Gildar Rift. In this far-flung, oft-neglected area of the Imperium, the Silver Skulls represented the closest Astartes response force. With increasing raids by the Renegade forces of the Maelstrom threatening the region, Lord Commander Argentius agreed to the region's need for semi-permanent protection provided by the Silver Skulls. Regular patrols were provided from the Chapter Fleet, a rotating duty for those Battle-Brothers who were not deployed on the field of battle elsewhere. Ever since piratical raiders had first assaulted the Gildar System, the Silver Skulls had established their patrols across the Rift. From the moment they had responded to the first attac of the Renegades from the Maelstrom, any further such incursions that had been attempted had been met with swift justice, delivered by a Chapter of Space Marines who were not known for their patience. The Silver Skulls delivered their judgement on transgressors with the minimum of preamble, and such judgement was invariably punctuated with a punishing and ultimately terminal salvo from a bombardment cannon. Relishing the challenges that maintaining peace in the sector offered, the Silver Skulls had set themselves to the task of regularly patrolling the Gildar Rift. Other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes would rarely volunteer themselves for such an inglorious duty. But the Silver Skulls considered the sector to be a part of their Chapter territory. Over the years, the Silver Skulls and the infamous Chaos Space Marines of the Red Corsairs who dwelled within the permanent Warp rift that was the Maelstrom had shared many encounters. The Gildar Rift had seen incursions from these would-be raiders many times but each had been successfully thwarted. Notable Campaigns *'Charadon Campaign' (698.M41) - In 698.M41 the Silver Skulls Chapter was part of a combined Space Marine force led by Chapter Master Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines, consisting of elements of the Angels of Absolution, the Lamenters, the Marines Errant, the Silver Skulls and the Ultramarines. During a seven-year-long Imperial Crusade this force inflicted a series of major defeats on the Ork empire of Charadon which delayed the invasion of the Imperium by the WAAAGH! Argluk for thirty standard years. *'The Corinth Crusade' (698.M41-705.M41) - The Silver Skulls participated in the Corinth Crusade that fought under the command of the famous Chapter Master Marneus Calgar alongside elements of the Ultramarines, the Angels of Absolution, the Lamenters, Scythes of the Emperor and Marines Errant Chapters, supported by 50 Imperial Guard regiments against the Ork WAAAGH! Skargor. The Crusade drove WAAAGH! Skargor back to the world of Corinth and ultimately Warlord Skargor was slain. This Crusade pushed back the later invasion of Imperial space by the Charadon Orks' WAAAGH! Argluk by 30 standard years. *'Great Malagantine Purge (770.M38-791.M38)' - The Great Malagantine Purge was an Imperial military operation carried out in the years 770-791.M38 by 5 Space Marine Chapters collectively termed the Manus Irae who unleashed the Emperor of Mankind's wrath upon the heretical Malagant Sector in the Segmentum Tempestus. The details of this operation have been kept secret from the Imperial Adepta, including the Inquisition, with the records of the campaign sealed deep within the Celarno Vaults on Terra. What is recorded in fragmentary Imperial records if that the Manus Irae were charged by the High Lords of Terra of that era to "spare none and set a bloody, fearful example to the realm of Mankind." The death toll unleashed by the Manus Irae during the course of this 21-year long campaign is believed to have been enormous and to have cost hundreds of billions of lives. Whole worlds were put to the sword by the Astartes or were wiped clean of all life by Exterminatus orders that unleashed a hideous, flesh-dissolving virus upon their inhabitants. In recognition of their successful participation in this campaign, the Fire Hawks Chapter was granted the Feudal World of Costeau XI as their demesne by the High Lords. However, due to their willingness to carry out such merciless exterminations of civilian populations whose guilt was not clear, the Fire Hawks would be shunned by many of their fellow Astartes Chapters. The Black Fragments of Cardinal Bloch the Reviled, one of the few remaining heretical sources which contain information concerning the Purge of Malagant, explains that the Manus Irae consisted of 5 Chapters, but listed only three by name, including the Fire Hawks, the Silver Skulls and the Charnel Guard. *'Lazar System Blockade' (857.M41) - The Silver Skulls' Chapter fleet blockaded the Dead Worlds of the Lazar System for three years in 857.M41. Nothing got in or out, and no explanation for the blockade of this empty system was ever provided by the Silver Skulls. In truth, the Silver Skulls had been engaged in a campaign against the Necrons to purge them from the system's worlds in vengeance for the destruction wrought by the Necrons upon the Silver Skulls' 4th Company. Though the main Tomb World in the system was overwhelmed and obliterated by the Astartes, the Silver Skulls soon regretted their hasty assault, as secondary Necron bases throughout the Lazar System were awakened to life following the destruction of the Tomb World. Unable to admit defeat, the Silver Skulls chose to dig in, and what should have been a simple reciprocal assault transformed into a grueling military campaign involving the entire Chapter. *'Scouring of Ammas' (892.M40) - During the Scouring of Ammas, Space Marines of the Silver Skulls Chapter first encountered the daemonic warband known as "The Soulmaw." Their champion was apparently destroyed by the Librarian Lucius Clave. *'The Soulmaw Assault Aragave (954.M41)' - Having survived the horrors of the Black Night, the citizens of Aragave, a vassal world of the Silver Skulls, are further tormented by an unidentified daemonic warband. When the Silver Skulls Chapter responds to the distress call, the daemons quickly vanish. These entities were suspected to be the daemonic warband called "The Soulmaw." *'Soulmaw Assault on Varsavia (955.M41)' - With much of the Silver Skulls Chapter absent, the Soulmaw strikes against several worlds close to the Chapter's homeworld of Varsavia. The Silver Skulls' Chapter Librarians suspect a daemonic attack on their homeworld is imminent. *'Third War for Armageddon (998.M41)' - The Silver Skulls participated in the Third War for Armageddon, deploying 7 companies. The ruins of Hades Hive, badly damaged during the Second War for Armageddon, were once again the scene of heavy fighting during this conflict. Space Marines from the Silver Skulls Chapter were engaged in fierce battles in an attempt to prevent the Orks from looting valuable metals from the shattered hive city for use in the construction of the gargantuan Greenskin war machines known as Gargants. The five companies of the Silver Skulls at Hades Hive had to fall back from Yarrick's Hope Harbour after a tanker full of Orks and explosives rammed the docks. However, the Silver Skulls struck back at the foul xenos, having shown exemplary skill in infiltrating one of the Ork Roks to the southeast of the hive, fighting their way into the core of the fortress and using the Orks' own teleporter arrays to send thermic charges into the orbiting Space Hulks that had previously provided the Orks with a continual stream of troops and war machines. *'Zeist Campaign (999.M41)' - The Silver Skulls participated in the Zeist Campaign, heeding the call of the Lord Macragge, Marneus Calgar, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, who tasked Captain Cato Sicarius of the 2nd Company to lead the Imperial forces in containing the Tau expansion in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. The Silver Skulls contributed several Tactical Squads that were instrumental in the successful assault and liberation of the world of Augura, which had served as a primary forward base of operations for the Tau Empire's forces during its Third Sphere Expansion. *'Beta-Garmon IV Expeditionary Force (Unknown Date.M41)' - The 7th Company of the Silver Skulls were deployed in support of the Imperial Expeditionary Force deployed to Beta-Garmon IV. *'The Gildar Rift (Unknown Date.M41)' - The Silver Skulls Chapter fleet encounters and destroys a Red Corsairs strike force comprising several ''Executor''-class Grand Cruisers. The surviving Renegades make planetfall on several planets in the Gildar System including its primary world, Gildar Secundus, but the Silver Skulls are not to be thwarted so easily. Captain Daerys Arrun, the Master of the Fleet for the Silver Skulls and commander of the 4th Battle Company, orders his Astartes to track down the Red Corsairs and launch a planetary assault on the world of Gildar Secundus where they had gone to ground. In a matter of weeks, the Gildar System is declared free of the Red Corsairs' influence, though the price proves high for the Silver Skulls -- Captain Arrun is slain in single combat with Huron Blackheart, the Tyrant of Badab, the infamous Chaos Lord who leads the Red Corsairs. Blackheart and many of his Renegades escape from Gildar Secundus to plague the Imperium at a later date, but the people of the Gildar Rift are kept in the Emperor's light through the sacrifice of Daerys Arrun. Chapter Organisation Since Roboute Guilliman laid down the organisational dictates for the Space Marines in the Codex Astartes, it has become the prescription for the military organisation and order of battle for almost every Space Marine Chapter in the Imperium. Believing themselves to be Scions of Guilliman, the Silver Skulls strive to emulate their forebears' example and do their Primarch proud. However, the Silver Skulls had strayed from the precise structure laid out in the Codex, though the Chapter remained faithful to the spirit of the Codex's teachings. Their main difference from Codex-compliant Chapters is that the Silver Skulls possess a specialist rank known as a "Prognosticator." The Prognosticators are those Chapter Librarians who also serve as the Silver Skulls' spiritual advisers, akin to the Chaplains of other Chapters. These devout individuals not only provide spiritual guidance for their fellow Battle-Brothers but use their powerful psychic abilities to perform the sacred duty of reading the signs and portents, particularly the Imperial Tarot, to determine whether or not their Chapter's might is needed in accordance with the Emperor's divine will. It was the custom of the Silver Skulls' Chapter Master to take the name of Argentius upon his ascension to the chief rank of Lord Commander, to honour the first Chapter Master of the Silver Skulls, who had also been known as Argentius. The 10 squads within each company of the Chapter were named after a type of gemstone. The eyes of the Chapter badge on every Silver Skulls Astartes contained gemstones of the same type as his squad name. Prognosticatum The Prognosticatum was comprised of the Chapter's elite Librarian-Chaplains known as Prognosticators. These were the Chapter's champions; its greatest heroes. None dispute the fact that the Prognosticatum is the true ruling power within the Silver Skulls. Inspirational and powerful, this elite unit was formed of psychic Battle-Brothers whose prowess on the frontlines was second to none. Frequently, these Astartes were psykers whose gifts lay in a different direction from the esoteric divination and precognitive abilities that were so crucial to the functioning of the Chapter and leaned towards the more destructive, though this fact was not widely known among the Silver Skulls. Some Prognosticators possessed psychic abilities that were not always potent enough to provide a clear picture of the future for the Chapter, but this fact was also never advertised outside of the Prognosticatum, as the Chapter's morale was intimately bound up with its faith in its Prognosticators' pronouncements. A Prognosticator's role, when he was assigned to a company, was not only to advise the company's captain, but also to provide spiritual guidance to its Battle-Brothers in accordance with his position as a Chaplain-Librarian. Not all companies within the Silver Skulls had their own Prognosticator; they were a rare breed. Chaplains within the Chapter were no less valuable or less-respected, but it was undeniable that the Prognosticators and the rest of the Prognosticatum steered the Chapter’s course. The most important decisions required by the Chapter were ultimately left to the Prognosticatum and its governing council is overseen by Vashiro, the Chief Prognosticator. No decision that directly affected the entire Chapter was ever settled without the Prognosticatum first casting the auguries. Within the Silver Skulls Chapter, those who represented the council of the Prognosticatum were revered second only to Lord Commander Argentius himself. The Silver Skulls were a deeply superstitious Chapter and never deployed for battle without first waiting for the Prognosticators to consult the auguries. Within the Chapter's Librarium lay a large number of tomes collectively known as the Orthodoxy. These are the books of the Prognosticator's creed, a compilation of volumes of the collected wisdom and prophecies of each individual Prognosticator down through the millennia. Through the Orthodoxy, the Prognosticators gain access to that knowledge. They capture their dreams and visions and contained them for eternity within the pages of a book. In this way, the Orthodoxy ensured the knowledge and foresight of the ages was passed down to all the Silver Skulls. The Orthodoxy contains many predictions that may not come to fruition for many centuries, if ever. Within the pages of each tome are many recollections and unexplained dreams. Those that that have not yet come to pass are considered by the Prognosticatum and judged for their veracity as true prophecy. Those judged unworthy are struck from the pages of the sacred tomes. Chapter Combat Doctrine The Silver Skulls have a reputation for being fierce fighters, warriors who acquitted themselves on the field of battle with an almost legendary savagery. They preferred to deploy more as skirmishers than line troops, unleashing their strength where it would make the most difference when fighting alongside other Imperial military forces. Their refusal to give ground during combat was a defining trait of the Chapter. In training, Silver Skulls Battle-Brothers performed their daily exercises in the half-light of the training cages. The lighting in these areas was intentionally dull, the lumen-sconces embedded in the walls giving off little more than a perfunctory glow. It was a habit of the Silver Skulls to train in varying levels of light since such practice better prepared them to face combat in any conditions and helped maintain their ability to control their enhanced eyesight. Chapter Beliefs A Chapter with a well-established reputation for victory, even in the face of overwhelming odds, the Silver Skulls never deployed for battle without consulting the portents. They relied on their Prognosticators for such auguries, and considered the prophecies that they delivered as the word of the Emperor. The Silver Skulls followed the precepts of the Varsavian Orthodoxy, a variation of the standard creed of the Imperial Cult. Unusually devout for Space Marines, Silver Skulls Astartes were known to make the sign of the Aquila at the mere mention of an evil individual or before facing a deadly opponent. As the Silver Skulls were also unusually superstitious Astartes, they believed that this gesture could ward off evil. When a Battle-Brother prayed before going into battle they would speak their own personal litany, often in the tribal dialect of their birth. Such connections to their prior lives as mortals before ascension to the ranks of the Astartes were actively encouraged. The Silver Skulls were proud of their heritage and those who had come from the Chapter’s homeworld tended to stoically hold onto the traditions and practices of their upbringing. The fortress-monastery of the Silver Skulls was located deep in the heart of Varsavia’s northern mountain range. It was a harsh, inhospitable place that only the most tenacious and hardy souls would brave. Most of the Chapter’s young Aspirants and Novitiates saw their first view of the fortress-monastery from the window of the transport that had carried them there. A select few had climbed their way to the top of the mountains alone. This was an impressive feat even for an Astartes, let alone the handful of mortal children who accomplished it. Before becoming a full-fledged Space Marine, a Silver Skull Neophyte was required to undergo a ceremonial ritual known as the Fast of the Ascension -- a trial of the spirit. What this exactly entails is unclear to outsiders. The Neophyte must also undergo a final test of endurance known as the Long Patrol. Forming part of the final stage of a recruit’s initiation, the Long Patrol saw the Aspirants sent out into the feral wilds of the Varsavian tundra with no more than a Combat Knife to defend themselves with. Those who survived remained with the Chapter and ascended into its ranks. Those who died during the Long Patrol were remembered with honour. Only those worthy enough to have reached the final stages of the process were permitted to walk the Long Patrol. It is considered better by far to die on the Long Patrol than to fail and become a Chapter serf, the most common fate for failed Silver Skulls Aspirants. Every recruit, alongside his rigorous physical training regime and hypno-doctrination sessions, was required to divine their future path at some point with a Prognosticator. All of the Silver Skulls were required to undertake a pilgrimage prior to their final conversion and deployment into the Scout Company. The long, lonely trip to the far-flung Prognosticator Temple where the individual auguries were cast had necessitated traveling through mountains that were rugged in the extreme. This pilgrimage traditionally occurred prior to the insertion of the Progenoid Glands. The most sacred of the Astartes gene-seed implants, to receive the Quintessence Sacred was considered the pinnacle of achievement. If successful in their pilgrimage and having received the approval of the Prognosticators, the Neophytes must then pass one final thorough medical examination by the Chapter's Apothecaries to be welcomed and initiated fully into the Chapter. Every Battle-Brother of the Silver Skulls who ascended into the full ranks of the Chapter, they were granted a personal audience in the Chief Prognosticator's presence. Each Battle-Brother received a private blessing from the Chapter's greatest seer. No Silver Skull ever spoke of the deeply personal words or portents provided by the Chief Prognosticator during these private sessions in front of any other. Each Battle-Brother's possible future was spelled out in that meeting and it was understood that it was improper to speak of such things openly. Of course, that future was often presented as a riddle or a parable of some kind and its import was rarely immediately clear. Silver Skulls are known to use little to no ostentation, apart from the rich displays of the company trophies that were located in their company chapels. The Chapter was not aesthetically handicapped; they took great pride in their body art and their tattoo artists, the Custodes Cruor (Chapter Artisans), were regarded highly. Many of the Silver Skulls designed their own tattoos and a number of them were genuinely talented artists. The ancient Varsavian tribal tradition of marking the body was considered the ultimate battle honour and every Battle-Brother of the Silver Skulls boasted designs that were completely unique to the individual. Some chose representations of great battles that were breathtaking in their detail. In all cases, the last part of a Silver Skull’s body to receive such markings was his face. Only on ascension to the rank of Captain was an Silver Skulls Aatartes allowed to receive that honour. Funerary Beliefs The Silver Skulls' funeral world of Pax Argentius was one of the three small moons that orbited their homeworld of Varsavia. In accordance with the Chapter’s deeply rooted superstitions, they believed categorically that the spirits of the dead and the souls of their ancestors looked down on them from the moon, watching over them and guiding them forwards. It was an extraordinary place, with mausoleums and memorials that had been lovingly hand-crafted and engraved by the brothers of the Custodes Cruor meandering across its surface. The entirety of the moon was maintained with pride by a veritable army of Chapter serfs. So many memorials and monuments were especially unusual given that the Chapter’s choice of burial for its Astartes was cremation. Whenever possible, the ashes of the honoured dead were placed in an urn that was ornately carved and fashioned from the skull of the enemy who had taken the life of that Battle-Brother. If this was not possible, then the Custodes Cruor fashioned a passable substitute from the finest materials. If opinion concerning the contradictory nature of cremating and yet honouring their dead with funerary monuments bothered the Silver Skulls, they never acknowledged it. Pax Argentius, the funerary moon, was a place where the last divide between the Astartes of the Chapter and the mortals who served alongside them was rubbed away. Here, Artificers were buried alongside their masters. All those who swore fealty to the Battle-Brothers of Varsavia were, in death, ultimately treated as the equals they could never have been in life. It was a devoutly spiritual place, and one which frequently drew young warriors to its calming presence. Every Battle-Brother of the Chapter sought their own manner of quelling the furious Varsavian fires that raged in their bellies at the time of their ascension. This sense of peace could often be found amongst the walkways and corridors of the dead. This, along with the sacred, hallowed monument to the first Argentius had given the moon its name. Pax Argentius was also where the Battle-Brothers who trained as Chaplains went to study the texts and tomes of their calling. Only there, amidst the spirits of the fallen, did these Chaplains-in-training feel that they could truly understand the lessons of the past. Like the more numerous psychic Prognosticators, the Chapter’s Chaplains were deeply superstitious and fanatical in the discharge of their duties. The Silver Skulls are also known to perform a service for the dead during which prayers are intoned for the dead with respect and reverence. This is known as the Varsavian Prayer to the Departed, a Silver Skulls tradition that had come to the Chapter from the tribal shamans of Varsavia. The seemingly endless list of names recited from memory during the prayer represented all those departed Battle-Brothers who the prayer's reciter had fought alongside. Just as some Battle-Brothers carried the names of the fallen in High Gothic copperplate script in the tattoos they placed on their bodies, others carried the names of the honoured dead within their minds. The Silver Skulls also have a brutal reputation as headhunters, for Silver Skulls Astartes are known for wearing the decapitated heads and skulls of their enemies as trophies on their Power Armour. The reasons for this unusually barbaric custom remain unclear, though it was likely derived from the original customs of the Silver Skulls Astartes recruited as feral tribesmen from Garanda II. Within the darkened recesses of a Silver Skulls chapel are kept a number of silver-coated skulls standing on plinths. Each is adorned with a plaque detailing the name of the Battle-Brother who had taken the trophy and the date of the victory. Collecting the skulls of mighty enemies was more than just a case of ostentation and pride. It was considered a measure of a company’s strength and honour. The Custodes Cruor, the Chapter’s artisans, extracted the skulls from their former owners and coated them in molten silver. Each one was an exquisitely-wrought work of art, covered in spirals and whorls. Tribal markings, sometimes matching the tattoos of the Battle-Brother who had slain the fallen enemy, were embossed on the surface, marking each trophy as the rightful property of that Astartes’ original tribe. Every skull was another mark of honour for the Battle-Brother who had taken it. Each one represented another vanquished foe. For every skull there was a singularly unique memory. From the massive skull of an Ork Warboss to the slender, elongated skull that still had part of its spine attached that had once belonged to a Tyranid Genestealer. Every trophy came with its own story. When not deployed on manoeuvres, or during the long periods of space travel that carried them to their next battlefield, the Silver Skulls regularly gathered to tell the stories of their conquests. Those with a flair for the dramatic could hold their Battle-Brothers captivated, regardless of how many times the story had already been told. Chapter Gene-Seed Unlike many other Chapters, the Silver Skulls remain ignorant as to the truth of their genetic heritage. The name of their primogenitor, the Primarch whose genetic material first formed their Chapter, was unknown to them, as the records had been lost. However, some fragmentary references in Imperial records indicated that the Silver Skulls had been one of the more famed Chapters to have been formed during the Second Founding after the end of the Horus Heresy. Several centuries previously, the Chapter's Apothecaries had performed countless genetic tests on the Silver Skulls' gene-seed which suggested that the Silver Skulls were most likely a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines and the great Primarch Roboute Guilliman who had reformed the Imperium after the Emperor's interment within the Golden Throne. But the truth of the Chapter's heritage mattered little to the Silver Skulls. The simple fact was, they did exist and despite many great hardships, had thrived and prospered in the pursuit of the Emperor's will. Notable Silver Skulls *'Argentius (Lord Commander)' - Lord Commander Argentius was the Chapter Master of the Silver Skulls. It was the custom of the Silver Skulls Chapter Master to always take the name of Argentius, the name of the first Lord Commander of the Silver Skulls, when he ascended to become the new Master of the Chapter. *'Vashiro (Chief Prognosticator)' – Vashiro is the Chief Prognosticator of the Silver Skulls Chapter. The most important decisions faced by the Chapter are ultimately handed over to the Prognosticatum and its governing council is overseen by Vashiro. Nothing involving a choice that directly affects the entire Chapter is ever settled without the Prognosticatum first casting the auguries. Vashiro is said to possess powerful psychic abilities of foresight and prognostication that are nearly unsurpassed by the other psykers within the Prognosticatum. *'Malus (Chief Apothecary)' - Malus was the highly respected and venerable Chief Apothecary of the Silver Skulls and was known to take personal pride and interest in all those Battle-Brothers who followed their own calling. *'Kerelan (First Captain)' - First Captain Kerelan was the commander of the elite 1st Company. *'Eddan Bourne (Captain)' - Captain Eddan Bourne was the commander of the 2nd Assault Company. of the 4th Battle Company]] *'Daerys Arrun (Captain and Master of the Fleet)' - Daerys Arrun was the Master of the Fleet of the Silver Skulls and Captain of that Chapter's 4th Battle Company. Arrun possessed a closely shaved head which did nothing to hide the mass of scar tissue on his skull; these scars might have been considered disfiguring on anyone else, but on a Space Marine they served as a mark of honour. His face was also covered in swirling whorls of dark ink that all but obscured his flesh; these were the battle tattoos that all the captains of the Silver Skulls earned the right to wear when they assumed their commands. This is a custom that the Chapter's Astartes had taken from the tribes of Varsavia. If his sheer size and forcible presence were not enough to provoke fear in Arrun's foes, his tribal brandings did the job admirably. Daerys Arrun also possessed piercing blue eyes which could freeze the heart of nearly any foe.From the Command Pulpit of the Battle Barge Manifest Destiny, one of two Battle Barges in the Silver Skulls' Chapter Fleet, Arrun patrolled the sector of space near the Silver Skulls' homeworld of Varsavia known as the Gildar Rift. Arrun led the Silver Skulls' assault on the world of Gildar Secundus in the Gildar System to free that planet from the savage grip of the piratical Red Corsairs Chaos Space Marines. Though the Silver Skulls proved victorious in defeating the Renegades, Arrun was slain by their leader, the infamous Chaos Lord Huron Blackheart, the Tyrant of Badab. *'Daviks (Siege Captain)' - Daviks was the commander of the Silver Skulls 9th Company and the Strike Cruiser Quicksilver. Physically, he was always grim of face and solid of build and had looping whorls of red ink marking his face and neck, visible above the bulk of his wargear. The Siege Captain’s had always been able to predict the needs of a given mission with almost preternatural accuracy. He had demonstrated such a propensity for this that the Prognosticatum had tested his skills on more than one occasion, suspicious that he might have possessed a latent psychic ability. Of all his Battle-Brothers amongst the other company captains, the 4th Battle Company's Captain Arrun had always found Daviks to be the most serious and earnest. Nobody could ever recall seeing the 9th Company's captain at ease. Daviks always seemed to be in a perpetual state of tense readiness; a spring coiled and ready to strike at a word. Solid and dependable, nigh on as impregnable as the defences he had designed during his tenure, Daviks was frequently deployed as the diplomatic face of the Chapter. His earnest brand of solidity loaned an aspect of seriousness to the Silver Skulls that Lord Commander Argentius liked to present to the universe beyond the borders of Varsavia. *'Sephera (Captain)' - Captain Sephera was the Chief of Recruits for the Chapter. *'Sinopa (Captain)' - Captain Sinopa was a long-time friend of Captain Arrun of the 4th Company. He took over assigned duties as the commander of the Battle Barge Manifest Destiny in Arrun's absence, as he oversaw the Resurgent Project aboard the Strike Cruiser Dread Argent. *'Bast (Prognosticator)' - Bast was a Prognosticator who served in the Chapter's 8th Company. As a powerful psyker, Bast has an affinity with the basic elements of nature that was unsurpassed. *'Bhehan (Prognosticator)' - Bhehan is a young Prognosticator who also served in the Chapter's 8th Company. As a powerful psyker, Bhehan was said to possess the abilities of foresight and prognostication. *'Brand (Prognosticator)' - Brand served as the commander of the 4th Battle Company’s principal advisor and Prognosticator. Though ageing, his long hair threaded through with silver and his tattooed face lined and wise, his acuity was as sharp as it had ever been. His not inconsiderable psychic abilities went a very long way towards ensuring that no secrets were ever kept from him. Brand had served alongside Daerys Arrun for a long time and the two had always been polar opposites. Where Arrun was spontaneous and rash, Brand had been consistently level and measured in his approach. For the most part, they complemented one another well. The basic differences in their personalities brought out the best in both of them. He was seriously wounded defending the bridge of the Strike Cruiser Dread Argent when he fought and killed the Red Corsairs Chaos Sorcerer Taemar. *'Chaereus (Prognosticator)' - Chaereus was the tribal blood brother of Apothecary Ryarus of the 4th Battle Company. He claimed the ability to read the psychic auras of others. Chaereus always maintained that Ryarus’ aura was that of a protector. *'Lucius Clave (Prognosticator)' - Lucius Clave was a Prognosticator of the Silver Skulls. When the Chapter first encountered the daemonic warband known as the Soulmaw, it was Clave who confronted the warband's champion and destroyed him utterly. *'Deiad (Prognosticator)' - Deiad was a Prognosticator of the Silver Skulls. *'Ikek (Prognosticator)' - Ikek was a Prognosticator assigned to Captain Sinopa, aboard the Battle Barge Manifest Destiny. *'Inteus (Prognosticator)' - Inteus was a young Prognosticator assigned to advise Siege Captain Daviks of the 9th Company aboard the Strike Cruiser Quicksilver. *'Simeon (Prognosticator)' - Simeon was a Prognosticator of the Silver Skulls Chapter who served with the 4th Battle Company's Squad Carnelian. He died in battle with the Red Corsairs on Gildar Secundus when their Thunderhawk was shot down by Red Corsairs sympathisers. *'Malus (Apothecary)' - When Inquisitor Thraxx came to Varsavia to investigate the purity of the Silver Skulls' gene-seed it was Apothecary Malus who showed the Inquisitor the Silver Skulls’ Apothecarion, and the massive reinforced door that protected the Chapter's gene-seed storage. Thraxx was amazed by the level of protection the Chapter provided for its gene-seed and some Imperial savants have suggested that, as a result, the Silver Skulls are obsessed with gene-seed purity. Yet the particulars of gene-seed storage in other Astartes Chapters are not generally known and so this belief concerning the Silver Skulls' obsession is just pure speculation. *'Naryn (Apothecary)' - Naryn was an Apothecary assigned to the 4th Battle Company. He took over the duties of Company Apothecary when Ryarus was captured by the Red Corsairs aboard the derelict Wolf of Fenris. He was known to have an impeccable record as both a warrior and an Apothecary. Like many of the Silver Skulls, Naryn favoured wearing his hair shoulder length. Unlike many of the Chapter, his hair was a deep, burnished copper colour. It had always marked him out amongst the largely blonde or dark-haired Silver Skulls and indicated his origin from one of the non-Varsavian recruiting worlds that the Chapter had begun to use. With that colouring, he was likely from the ash wastes of Garanda II. He had an expressive and intelligent face with large, inquisitive eyes and always exuded an air of great enthusiasm. *'Ryarus (Apothecary)' – Ryarus was an Apothecary assigned to the 4th Battle Company. He is a taciturn, stoic Apothecary, known to speak only when the situation warrants it. Ryarus was friends with Techmarine Correlan. He liked the younger warrior’s honesty and blunt nature and had taken Correlan under his wing in some respects. Ryarus' cool level-headedness was the perfect counterpoint to Correlan’s fire. For the better part of two hundred Terran years, his role had always focused far more on reducing the suffering of mortally wounded Battle-Brothers by sending them into the arms of the Emperor swiftly and cleanly. He recovered the Chapter’s legacy from the fallen so that future generations might strengthen its numbers. There was a need for emotional detachment of course, yet the loss of each of his Battle-Brothers cut him keenly. His own honour tattoos were simple and deeply reflective of the soul beneath the skin, listing the name of every Silver Skulls warrior whose Quintessence Sacred (gene-seed) he had reclaimed with his Reductor. They would not be forgotten, at least not by him. Ryarus was a tribal blood brother to Prognosticator Chaereus, who died in a most sorrowful way after being torn to shreds by rampaging Orks, which fueled the Apothecary’s own battle rage. Ryarus had cut down dozens of the Greenskins single-handedly before a near-fatal shot to the chest had incapacitated him. Even then, his fading fury had kept him struggling to bring his Bolt Pistol to bear on the xenos. It was only because he had slipped into unconsciousness that he had stopped fighting at all. Apothecary Malus had overseen his subordinate’s recovery. Ryarus was greatly respected and admired amongst not only the Astartes of the 4th Battle Company, but throughout the entire Chapter for his forthright nature and that legendary display of fearless tenacity against the Orks – a story that was told over and over again. *'Correlan (Techmarine)' – Correlan was a Techmarine assigned to the 4th Battle Company. A sullen Battle-Brother, Correlan was not known for his subtlety. In his life before his ascension to the ranks of the Astartes, he had been one of the few Silver Skulls raised to adolescence amongst one of the semi-feral, aggressive tribes of the southern Varsavian steppes. Some habits and mannerisms took longer to overwrite than others and a tendency to fall prey to a hair-trigger temper was one. In matters of the technological however, Correlan was an enthusiastic and energetic follower of the Omnissiah. As an Aspirant, Correlan had demonstrated a remarkable talent with machines and an unerring ability to soothe troubled Machine Spirits. At times it was hard to believe that an individual in possession of such a fiery soul could demonstrate such patience with the stubborn servants of the Omnissiah. His training with the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars had ended some five Terran years previously and he had served under Captain Arrun for the entire time since his return from the Red Planet. He worked hard and with great diligence and his prowess on the battlefield was executed with the same intensity that he delivered to everything. Correlan was in possession of an honest, open personality and his emotions were always writ large in an unscarred, boyish face. His humours were often unpredictable but his abilities were without question. He had a tendency to insubordination and bad moods that made him tricky to handle; a trait which the Chapter's Master of the Forge had frequently lamented. He also had several bionic prosthetics from old war wounds, including an augmetic right eye and a synthetic hand. *'Volker Straub (Resurgent)' – Volker was considered the Silver Skulls greatest technological project and most radical advancement of their existence: a technological wonder the likes of which the Silver Skulls had never seen. He was the end product of a true marriage between man and machine. Volker Straub had been one of the most promising Aspirants of his intake. Hugely charismatic and a gifted athlete, he was also a born leader. From the moment he had been brought from his tribe to the Silver Skulls' fortress-monastery on Varsavia, every soul his effervescent personality touched knew that his future would be bright. He was a future Chapter hero in the making. He had undergone his earliest trials as champion of his group, never once defeated in hand-to-hand combat or blade training. He was bright, questioned everything and knew when to hold his tongue. It gave him great standing with his peers and more importantly with his elders. Every implantation during the conversion process had gone smoothly. Every last thing about Volker Straub had dazzled the Chapter from his earnest nature to his startling wit and intelligence. He had been Captain Sephera’s absolute favourite. The grizzled Master of Recruits had written report after glowing report of recommendation and in advance of Volker’s placement with the Scout Marines of the 10th Company, he had personally suggested that Volker receive a command at the earliest possible date. He had even offered to put his full personal support behind such a recommendation. Universally liked and with a capacity to think faster and with greater logic than many of his peers, Sephera did not doubt that Volker Straub was destined for greatness. In all this, Volker never lost sight of who – or what – he was. He was an Aspirant of the Silver Skulls Chapter. His loyalty was without question, both to his Chapter, his brothers-in-arms and to the Imperium. He was assigned to Sergeant Atellus' squad in the 10th Company and outperformed his peers consistently. Every time the bar was raised, he met each new challenges with confidence and competence. Then, two days before he was scheduled to undergo the implantation of his Progenoid Gland, the Prognosticatum intervened. Every recruit, alongside his rigorous physical training regime and hypno-doctrination sessions, was required to divine their future path at some point with a Prognosticator. This happened, traditionally, prior to the insertion of the Progenoid Gland. The most sacred of the Astartes gene-seed implants, the Quintessence Sacred was the pinnacle of human achievement. Volker had been on the edge of a bright future as a fully fledged Battle-Brother when the auguries denied him the ultimate glory. Volker Straub was not to be given the Progenoid Gland that would allow him full ascension to the status of Astartes. Denied that which he so desperately craved, Volker had formally requested the Chief Prognosticator Vashiro’s permission to walk the Long Patrol anyway. Again, he was denied. Vashiro had explained to him that he was not to become a Battle-Brother for his destiny lay down a different path to the one trodden by so many warriors before him. He became a part of an audacious experiment known as the Resurgent Project. Inserted into a specially designed tank, his skin was studded at regular intervals with jack-ports, exactly as full Battle-Brothers themselves bore. These were the cybernetic neural interfaces that granted a Space Marine the ability to connect to his Power Armour. But the boy in the tank had never been granted the Emperor’s Ward, what other Chapters knew as the Black Carapace, the synthetic membrane that coated a Space Marine’s torso beneath their skin and provided the valuable neural connection with their Power Armour. He should have been viewed as nothing more than a failure. Yet, to many within the Chapter, the boy was something else entirely, for he represented the Chapter’s future. Volker became integrated with the Machine Spirit of the Strike Cruiser Dread Argent; a perfect amalgamation of the mechanical the biological. This fusion of man and machine was not dissimilar to a Dreadnought. When the integration was completed, lightning-fast reactions and orders could be channeled directly to the Machine Spirit of the Dread Argent without the necessary intervention of third parties. Volker could command the warship to fire for as long as the guns were loaded and replenished. He would be able to plot firing solutions by using the auguries as though they were extensions of his own senses. When the full wiring grid was complete, he would be able to steer and turn the ship with far greater control and effectiveness than the helmsman could ever manage. Everything Volker had undergone was worthy of any Battle-Brother of the Silver Skulls Chapter. He may have been denied the right to ascend to the ranks of the true Astartes, but Captain Arrun made him a solemn promise: his name would be passed back to Vashiro to be entered in the Book of Remembrance. His name would be entered into the Book ''and it would remembered for all time as a Chapter hero. When Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs were fleeing the Gildar Rift after acquiring the raw materials they needed from the world of Gildar Secundus, the Tyrant played one last hand. He opened a gateway to the Warp in close proximity to the planet. Being close to the ''Dread Argent and with all the debris that littered the Rift, opening a Warp Gate was a risky move. The wake caused by the opening rift would tear the Silver Skulls' vessel apart. Full control of navigational systems were given over to Volker, which provided the crew with a far greater chance of survival. As the ship was sucked into the malevolent depths of the Empyrean, a huge shock wave radiated out from the point of entry, its trajectory wild and unpredictable. It stirred up the debris field and turned it from a perilous series of obstacles into a relentless onslaught of wanton destruction. As a punishing barrage of debris and asteroids struck the Dread Argent, Volker managed to successfully navigate the debris, thus saving the ship and its precious cargo of Astartes, thus living up to his destiny as a hero of the Chapter. *'Apenimon' (Dreadnought) - Brother Apenimon was a Venerable Dreadnought assigned to the 9th Battle Company. *'Pallaton' (Dreadnought) - Brother Pallaton was a Venerable Dreadnought assigned to the 9th Battle Company. *'Atellus (Sergeant)' - Atellus is a Sergeant assigned to the 10th Scout Company. He trained the Aspirant Volker Straub, knowing early on that he was destined for greatness within the annals of the Chapter's history. *'Baeus (Sergeant)' – Baeus is one of the Squad Sergeants assigned to the 4th Company. *'Dasan (Sergeant)' – Dasan is one of the young Squad Sergeants assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Mohave. Dasan was a reticent soul. Like many of the Silver Skulls, he had grown to young manhood amongst a nomadic tribe. Many of these tribes had their own traditions and customs. In Dasan’s tribe, unnecessary speaking before battle was considered borderline blasphemy. As such, he had a tendency to be serious and silent, speaking only when necessary. It was the way of his people. Dasan often found himself irritated by the confident, outgoing Sergeant Matteus. *'Dyami (Sergeant)' - Dyami is a Squad Sergeant assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Garnet. *'Emareas (Sergeant)' - Emareas is a Squad Sergeant assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Onyx. His squad was composed entirely of Assault Marines. The Chapter’s Assault Marines best represented the sheer ruthlessness and savagery that the Silver Skulls were famed for. *'Hakan (Sergeant)' – Hakan is one of the young Squad Sergeants assigned to the 4th Company. *'Matteus (Sergeant)' – Matteus is one of the young Squad Sergeants assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Kyanite. Matteus was considered by his fellow Battle-Brothers to be very loquacious. When he came of age he arrived at the fortress-monastery at Varsavia within a few years of Sergent Dasan. They had trained together and received their promotions almost simultaneously. There was an old rivalry between them, but it was not malicious. It was the sort of rivalry that was encouraged by their superiors. A never-ending urge to be better than one's peers could drive an Astartes to greater and greater feats of strength and courage. Matteus had a tendency to fill the silence between conversation with unnecessary observations or words of self-perceived wisdom. Matteus died in glorious combat on the surface of Gildar Secundus, fighting against the vile forces of the Arch-Traitor Huron Blackheart. *'Porteus (Sergeant)' – Porteus is one of the Squad Sergeants assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Carnelian. *'Aviaq (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brother assigned to the 9th Company, Squad Malachite. *'Curis (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brotherassigned to the 4th Company, Squad Carnelian. *'Emetrius (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brother assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Carnelian. *'Eryk (Battle-Brother)' – A Battle-Brother assigned to the 4th Company and Thunderhawk helmsman. *'Ignus (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brother assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Carnelian. *'Keyle (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brother assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Carnelian. *'Nakos (Battle-Brother)' - A Battle-Brother assigned to the 4th Company. He was killed on the world of Gildar Secundus when he attempted to intervene in a duel between a severely wounded Captain Arrun and Huron Blackheart. *'Tayln (Battle-Brother)' – Talyn is assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Mohave under the command of Sergeant Dasan. As a potential Techmarine, he had not yet been despatched to Mars for his formal induction into the ways of the Mechanicus. As such, he had undergone his initial training at the hands of the existing Chapter Techmarines. *'Temerus (Battle-Brother)' – Termerus is assigned to the 4th Company, Squad Mohave under the command of Sergeant Dasan. Non-Astartes Personnel *'Berem (Pilot)' - Berem was an augmented human who had served Squad Carnelian as a Thunderhawk pilot for many years. *'Jeremiah (Navigator)' – Jeremiah is the chief Navigator of the Strike Cruiser Dread Argent. The young man who guided the Dread Argent through the Warp had been brought into the employ of the Silver Skulls by way of a Hive World where he had been running the streets, fighting for his own survival. Born into a family of the Navis Nobilite that had fallen far from grace, his parents had effectively sold him to the employ of the Imperium in an attempt to regain some sort of standing. They had sold him as a commodity and the insult still smarted deeply. *'Jordan Salvus (Chapter Serf)' - Jordan Salvus was a Chapter serf who loyally served as the Lord of the Household (Quartermaster) for the Silver Skulls' fortress-monastery. *'Eduar Yanus (Bridge Officer)' - Yanus was Captain Arrun's bridge officer aboard the Dread Argent. When there was a need for a strong commanding presence amongst the bridge crew and Arrun could not fulfill that role due to his duties as the commander of the 4th Battle Company, the officer had commanded his lord's flagship several times before in his absence. The bridge crew liked and respected Yanus. He had been born into one of the Silver Skulls vassal families. When he came of age, he made his way to the fortress-monastery to present himself as a potential Neophyte. The officer, a failed Aspirant of many years past, had dedicated his life to gladly serving alongside the Silver Skulls in whatever capacity he could manage when he had not merited being raised to become a Space Marine. He was every bit as fierce and loyal as one of the Chapter's Astartes. This had not gone unnoticed as was evidenced by the fact he could stand in command of an entire Astartes Strike Cruiser. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The Power Armour of the Silver Skulls is silver (including trim) with black shoulder plates. The Apothecaries of the Silver Skulls have both shoulder plates painted white and have a black vertical stripe painted down the centre of their helmet. Chapter Badge The Chapter badge of the Silver Skulls is a silver, stylised skull mask, similar to the pre-Horus Heresy Legion badge of the Iron Warriors. Chapter Markings According to some sources, the Chapter denotes an Astartes' company by the colour of his squad badge. Other sources say that the heraldic colour is displayed as the shoulder plates' trim, with the 1st Company using silver. Still other records indicate that the right shoulder pauldrons are coloured in the colour of a Silver Skull's company. On their left shoulder plate is the emblem of their Chapter, a stylised skull cast in silver. Each squad’s emblem has the skull's eyes picked out in a gemstone that provides them with their name. Chapter Fleet Only two of the Silver Skulls Strike Cruisers listed here particpated in the defence of the Gildar Rift, the others in the Silver Skulls fleet are all presently deployed elsewhere throughout the Segmentum and beyond. Most of the Silver Skulls' fleet is composed of Escort vessels like ''Gladius''-class Frigates, which are crewed primarily by Chapter serfs. The Silver Skulls' Chapter Fleet is known to possess the following starships: *''Manifest Destiny'' - Battle Barge - The Manifest Destiny was one of two Battle Barges that the Silver Skulls maintained in their Chapter fleet. It was normally under the command of Captain Daerys Arrun of the 4th Battle Company, who also served as the Chapter's Master of the Fleet. *''Dread Argent'' - Strike Cruiser - Assigned to the 4th Battle Company; the Dread Argent served as a test-bed warship for the Silver Skulls' Resurgent Project in which the Aspirant Volker Straub was cybernetically linked with the Strike Cruiser to provide more advanced forms of command and control. The Dread Argent served as Captain Daerys Arrun's temporary flagship during the Silver Skulls' campaign on Gildar Secundus against the Red Corsairs. *'''Quicksilver '- Strike Cruiser - Assigned to the 9th Company. Sources *''Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition) *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (5th Edition), p. 14 *''Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), p. 26 *''Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition) *''Codex: Space Marines'' (5th Edition), pp. 48-49 *''Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition'', p. 80 *''Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War, Part One'', p. 77 *''The Gildar Rift'' (Novel) by Sarah Cawkwell *''Warhammer 40,000 Compendium'' (1st Edition) *''Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook'' (5th Edition) *''White Dwarf Magazine'' Issue #284, "Humanity's Shield: Chapters involved in the defence of Cadia", p. 89-91 Category:S Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Imperium Category:Ultramarines